Pyrrhura orcesi, a new parakeet from Southwestern Ecuador, with systematic notes on the P. melanura complex

Abstract

A new species of parakeet, Pyrrhura orcesi sp. nov., from southwestern Ec-uador is described and named the El Oro Parakeet. This species is most closely related tothe Maroon-tailed Parakeet (P. melanura). Pyrrhura orcesi is restricted to a narrow band offorest, between ca 600 to 1100 m in elevation, along the western slope of the EcuadorianAndes. Its range is only ca 100 km in length, and, given the current rate of deforestation inthe area, it soon may be threatened with extinction.